A story map is a more fleshed out version of a story core.
Elements of a beginning
The story begins with a call to adventure, by moving out of the flat, ordinary events of life to new heights of experience. The characters are going to climb to get where they are going.
Elements of a middle
This is like a high wire that characters are going to need to cross in order to get to the other side: resolution. The characters may falter on their way to the other side, but they will get there eventually. On the left side of the middle is the problem. This can be a number of things, including an obstacle to overcome, an issue to resolve, a question to answer, a goal to meet, a mystery to solve, an opportunity to realize, in fact anything that challenges the characters in the story. It creates the expectation of future events, which in turn creates the tension that gives the story its forward motion.
If the central character does not undergo some sort of transformation on the way to solving the problem, then the story is your average B- action film. Problem: bad people, Solution: shoot them.
In a good story the bottom line is that the central character must be a different person at the end of the journey.
Elements of transformation are:
The main character needs to transform in order to solve the problem.
Transformation often involves slaying some internal personal feeling such as fear, insecurity, or some other character flaw.
Personal transformation is often a metaphor for universal transformation.
Sometimes transformation is radical, other times more gradual.
Elements of an end
After the story's problem is solved, there needs to be closure: a goal has been reached, an issue has been resolved, or events have been concluded.
Essential elements of an end are:
Closure. Listeners need to feel that their personal investment in listening has been honored. By the end of closure, all questions have been answered.
Life goes forward differently because people have been transformed. Ideally, you the listener, also feel changed.
Stories can conclude in an obvious way, such as stating what has been learned in the form of a moral or personal revelation. Or the story can move forward with some action or narrative that shows changes have been internalized. This is often called showing rather than telling.
Elements of a beginning
The story begins with a call to adventure, by moving out of the flat, ordinary events of life to new heights of experience. The characters are going to climb to get where they are going.
Elements of a middle
This is like a high wire that characters are going to need to cross in order to get to the other side: resolution. The characters may falter on their way to the other side, but they will get there eventually. On the left side of the middle is the problem. This can be a number of things, including an obstacle to overcome, an issue to resolve, a question to answer, a goal to meet, a mystery to solve, an opportunity to realize, in fact anything that challenges the characters in the story. It creates the expectation of future events, which in turn creates the tension that gives the story its forward motion.
If the central character does not undergo some sort of transformation on the way to solving the problem, then the story is your average B- action film. Problem: bad people, Solution: shoot them.
In a good story the bottom line is that the central character must be a different person at the end of the journey.
Elements of transformation are:
Elements of an end
After the story's problem is solved, there needs to be closure: a goal has been reached, an issue has been resolved, or events have been concluded.
Essential elements of an end are: